Frequently Asked Questions

Not sure how to get an SC Concealed Weapons Permit? 

We're so glad you asked! 
Aside from in house training, we work with a number of local partners in the Midlands of SC. Email us at training@diplomaticsolutionsarmory.com and we will get you to the right place. 
So get your SC CWP so you can bear your firearm legally. After all, the Second Amendment says it is your right to Keep and Bear arms. Do you want to find yourself needing your handgun but you left it behind in the nightstand because you haven't bothered to take a short and informative class yet? Get enrolled today!

Can you ship my firearm directly to me?

By law, firearms can only be shipped to a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) like ourselves. If you are outside of the Midlands of South Carolina but you would like to purchase one of our weapons, find a local FFL who can facilitate your transfer and have them send us their FFL at sales@diplomaticsolutionsarmory.com 

Do i have to fill out a 4473?

Yes. You, me, and we, will all go to prison if you don't. No private sales, and I don't care what you saw on that one episode of "Reacher", we don't loan guns or skip paperwork. We love dogs here at Diplomatic Solutions Armory and we're not getting ours shot for anybody. IYKYK.

But do i really have to show id to buy a gun?

What do you think this is, a polling place in California? Of course you have to show ID, you're trying to buy something that can kill people. You can't even get a library book without ID. Seriously, if your intent is to come here and try to get us to break the law for you, don't bother reaching out to us to begin with. 

Can I bribe you to skip the background check?

We've all seen a movie before where someone walks into a gun shop and passes a little extra cash to skip the paperwork. They even did it in Jumanji for crying out loud. 

If you think the scene above is real, I have news for you. 

Movies are fiction. 

Fiction written by someone who probably has never been in an actual gun shop. Often times someone who works for a production company that has an anti-gun political agenda, (looking at you NBC/Universal) and doesn't mind skewing reality to make people think it really is that easy. You will be subject to a criminal background check to purchase from us.

What is a nics check?

When someone tries to buy a firearm, the seller—known as a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL)—contacts the FBI. The prospective buyer fills out the required form, and the FFL sends that information to the FBI. We perform a background check on the buyer to verify eligibility.

Prospective firearms buyers who receive a “Denied” status on their background checks may have a state or federal firearm prohibition. The denied individual may choose to pursue a challenge and/or apply to the Voluntary Appeal File.

A “Delayed” message means the FBI needs to do additional research to verify the person's background. Our staff works closely with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies and courts to verify eligibility. In some cases, this can be a time-consuming process.

If i am a law enforcement officer and i show you my credentials, do i still have to wait for the nics check?

A great question, and the answer may surprise and disapoint you. Yes. You still have to do the NICS Check. The only thing that bypasses the NICS Check is a valid permit for the state you are purchasing in (here, a South Carolina Concealed Weapons Permit issued by SLED). Your CWP info can be placed on the 4473 in lieu of the NICS check by law. However, the permit can not be expired and must have your current address matching your Driver's License. And yeah, we have to see that too. The CWP doesn't count as valid legal ID on its own because there's no signature on it. Seriously, look all this up, we were kind of surprised as well. All of this is just one more reason to get your SC CWP, and if you are a law enforcement officer or retiree, that is even easier. Talk to your department's training coordinator about getting your most recent firearms qualification record to send with an application to SLED and that will count for the CWP Course by law. 

why was my firearms purchase delayed by the nics check?

A delay response indicates the subject of the background check has been matched with either a state or federal potentially prohibiting record containing a similar name and/or similar descriptive features (name, sex, race, date of birth, state of residence, social security number, height, weight, or place of birth). A delay response indicates that information you supplied on the ATF Form 4473 has been matched with information contained in the National Crime Information Center, the Interstate Identification Index, and/or the NICS Indices. Complete disposition information is not always available and a further review of these records is necessary. The FBI exhausts all efforts to retrieve current record information by contacting all applicable law enforcement agencies, i.e., local, state, and federal courts, etc. 

I Was Denied a Firearm—What Happens Now? 

If you believe you have been wrongfully denied a firearm, you can request a firearm-related challenge (appeal) from the FBI. We cannot help you with this unfortunately, other than to provide you the information. You may only challenge a denied firearm transaction, not a delayed one. This process will provide you the reason your background check was denied, and the opportunity to challenge your denied background check online.

To challenge your firearm denial, visit https://www.edo.cjis.gov.

You may also apply for the VAF at the same time you submit a firearm-related challenge. This is a Voluntary Appeal File (VAF). Anyone may apply for the VAF, but it is designed for firearm purchasers who believe they are legally allowed to buy firearms, but they have been denied more than once or frequently experience delays in their transactions. Purchasers sometimes find themselves experiencing delays or denials in firearms purchases because of a past misdemeanor charge or because an ineligible person has a similar name. When you apply for the VAF, FBI personnel will research your case and assign you a Unique Personal Identification Number (UPIN) if you have no firearms prohibitions. For future firearms transactions, you will provide your UPIN for your background check. You will still have to undergo a complete background check to buy a firearm, but the UPIN will help to confirm your identity. The VAF process can take several months.